Ravens' Refuge — Local services in Portland

My husband and I spent an amazingly incredible day with Ravens Refuge owners Dan and Laura in their Portland workshop, creating beautiful new white gold wedding bands. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the experience. It was way more than I ever expected! We had excellent, detailed communication with Laura as we attempted to nail down the ring styles that we wanted, prior to our scheduled workshop day. I emailed her so many questions, as I really knew nothing about the latest trends in jewelry, style options, materials, etc. She responded so promptly and politely to all back and forth emails/questions! We finally thought we had it figured out and scheduled our day to fly out to Portland to work with them in the workshop. When we arrived in the workshop, they patiently showed us sample rings, again, answering lots of questions, and went through them with us, making sure our selections were still exactly what we wanted. We both ended up making a few changes, and they were extremely patient and understanding with that. Then we got started, and Dan explained every step, and worked with us, letting us do as much or as little of each step as we wanted to. I had no idea all the steps involved, starting with the raw materials, melting it down to create the ingot, followed by numerous steps and processes to create the ring. Dan has been creating beautiful jewelry for 30+ years, and is a perfectionist, meticulous, and very patient. We had no experience with any of this, but he walked us through each step. Both my husband and I feel that this was an amazing, memorable experience, far beyond anything we had imagined. And our new rings seem so much more special and meaningful than our original bands, which we bought at a store at the mall 28 years ago, without much thought or effort. Ravens Refuge is a class act, and our new wedding bands truly are works of art. We were so blessed to find Dan and Laura, and we will always cherish our special day making...

We decided to get new wedding rings for our upcoming 22nd anniversary because we have never really liked our original rings and stopped wearing them ages ago. We wanted our new rings to be perfect, but the quality of the rings we saw both in jewelry stores and online was disappointing. And then we came across the Ravens’ Refuge website and saw Dan’s skill, and we knew immediately that he was the person we wanted to make our new rings.

We were hesitant to make such a personal and meaningful purchase online and spent many weeks emailing back and forth with Laura, who answered our many questions promptly and patiently and sent multiple photos of various rings and alloys to help us make our decision. In the end, we opted for unadorned rose gold bands, one polished and one satin finish. Our new rings are exactly what we had pictured in our minds—simple and elegant, yet solid. We actually gasped when we opened the box. There is simply no comparison between the quality of Dan’s work and that of standard, run-of-the-mill jewelers. Dan’s rings are not only visually beautiful but also physically substantial. They are clearly made by someone who knows his craft and cares about his art and takes the time to produce an exceptional piece of work. We could not possibly be happier with Dan’s beautiful workmanship and Laura’s...

Buying wedding bands from Laura and Dan was the best choice for my fiancee and I. First off, the quality of the rings and the craftsmanship is unlike anything I saw after months of looking at wedding bands. My fiancee and I ordered our bands both in platinum and mine with an 18k rose gold liner. They are stunning. We couldn't be happier with them. For one of the bands we emailed Laura a picture of a wedding band and Dan was able to copy it. These bands are heirloom quality, hand forged, cold rolled (trust me, I did a lot of research), sturdy as can be rings. But they're also beautiful and detailed and refined. These will be passed down to children and children's children and probably beyond that.

Wedding bands should be made by hand with lots of love. And that's what Dan does. And I cannot say enough amazing things about Laura. She answered SO MANY of my questions, always quick to respond, always patient, always helpful and my fiancee and I ended up with rings we absolutely love. Support an incredibly talented independent jewelry maker. You will forever love your wedding band from...